In a transparently partisan maneuver, the ACLU of North Dakota and a Fargo non-profit called the Freedom Resource Center for Independent Living (which also just happens to be the employer of state Senator Tyler Axness, who is currently running as a Democrat candidate for the PSC) has sent a letter to Secretary of State Al…

By Patrick B. McGuigan | CapitolBeatOK OKLAHOMA CITY – A new study from Anonymous Analytics is the latest installment in the years-long struggle to awaken both budgetary scrutiny and moral indignation when it comes to unsustainable government prison policies. The analysis accurately notes the U.S. prison population peaked in 2009, then moderated as crime rates declined…

By Marianela Toledo | Florida Watchdog MIAMI — Florida Watchdog wants to know exactly how Francis Suarez plans to resolve the homeless issue. The city of Miami is looking to re-open the issue and change some of the details of the accord in an attempt to get the indigents off the streets and into shelters. But…

Earlier today Rep. Kathy Hawken (R-Fargo) had a legislative colleague pass to me her phone number. She wanted me to call about my post from over the weekend which broke the news that, despite being an outspoken opponent of pro-life legislation, Hawken took a little viva Las Vegas time instead of showing up to vote…

A new report from the Department of Homeland Security is asserting the right of immigration and border patrol officials to execute “suspicionless and warrantless” searches of electronic devices (cell phones, laptops, tablets, etc.) within their jurisdiction, which extends 100 miles into the United States from our international borders and coast lines. A glance at this…

The chart, from the ACLU: Justice Department documents released today by the ACLU reveal that federal law enforcement agencies are increasingly monitoring Americans’ electronic communications, and doing so without warrants, sufficient oversight, or meaningful accountability. The documents, handed over by the government only after months of litigation, are the attorney general’s 2010 and 2011 reports…

The opposition to Measure 3, what supporters call the “Religious Liberty Amendment,” has now topped $1,000,000 in funds raised with most of the loot coming from Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. But why is Planned Parenthood interested in the amendment? After all, it’s not specifically about abortion or reproductive rights. It turns out, it’s about…

Whether or not citizens are allowed to photograph or video record the police as they go about their business in public has become a hot topic in many parts of the country. People have been arrested for no other offense than using a phone or a flip cam to record a traffic stop while not…

Other measures that will be on the June ballot here in North Dakota – mostly notably those concerning property taxes and university nicknames – have garnered more attention than Measure 3, but I don’t know that any ballot measure in the state has ever inspired more ignorant things to be said about it. There are…

With a stroke of the governor’s pen, Georgia has become the latest state in the union to require drug screening as a prerequisite for accessing benefits under certain social programs. The idea itself isn’t new, it’s been debated for decades and other states have passed similar laws, but what caught my eye was the ACLU’s…